Hurricane Fernand (Skarmory's 2019)
Hurricane Fernand was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season. The 7th depression, 6th named storm, 3rd hurricane and 2nd major hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season, Fernand formed as a Cape Verde-type hurricane as Tropical Depression Seven. It moved over favorable waters, becoming Tropical Storm Fernand and then Hurricane Fernand over the next 2 days. He continued to strengthen, reaching major hurricane status on August 31st and making an initial peak at 120 mph. Weakening due to an eyewall replacement cycle, he got back up to 115 mph before hitting Antigua & Barbuda and then Puerto Rico. Weakening to a TS, he made another landfall on the peak of the Dominican Republic before moving out into the Caribbean Sea again. Only gradual strengthening occured in the Caribbean Sea, passing through the Yucatan channel he regained hurricane strength on September 12. He then rapidly intensified, reaching his peak of 145 mph winds on September 14 and then undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle again. Still at 130 mph winds, he made landfall on Marsh Island, Louisiana, moving north and weakening to a TS again at the Louisiana-Arkansas border, and going extratropical on September 16 near Fayetteville, Arkansas. He finally dissipated on September 17. Fernand killed 122 people in Antigua & Barbuda and caused 1.2 billion USD in damage, 15 deaths in St. Kitts & Nevis with 40 million USD in damage and then killed 43 and caused 800 million USD in damage in Puerto Rico. The worst impacts came in the US however, with 538 dead and 9.4 billion USD in damage. Louisiana took the brunt of Fernand, with 412 of the dead and 8.2 billion USD in damage there. Texas had 74 die and 800 million USD in damage. Mississippi got 43 deaths and around 285 million in damage, and 75 million USD was sustained in Arkansas along with 8 deaths, plus another death from extratropical Fernand in Missouri. Flooding was a huge problem in Louisiana and Texas, especially storm surge. Mississippi had already been damaged from Chantal and Dorian which caused people to not be quite as prepared, flooding was still the main problem. Arkansas also mainly dealt with flooding. Antigua was not prepared for the type of winds that came from Fernand, but flooding was still a problem there too. Storm Surge was a problem in Puerto Rico mainly. Meteorological History A tropical wave came off the coast of Africa on August 23, 2019. It was monitored for development, and developed into Tropical Depression Seven on August 25. It moved over favorable waters, and was able to strengthen into a TS on August 26, then a hurricane on August 27. Soon after, he became a category 2. On August 31st, he strengthened into the 2nd major hurricane of the year. An initial peak of 120 mph winds and a 943 MB pressure was recorded before landfall on Antigua. He moved over less favorable waters and land interaction with Antigua/St. Kitts did weaken him slightly before landfall on Puerto Rico, as he came out as a tropical storm after passing Puerto Rico, and a weak TS after crossing the Dominican Republic. Wind shear was medium and Fernand was projected to die off, however he managed to make it through and strengthen back into a hurricane on September 12 in the Yucatan channel. He then rapidly intensified under extremely favorable conditions and reached 145 mph and a 926 MB central pressure on September 14 before going through an eyewall replacement cycle, and then made landfall on Louisiana. He surprisingly stayed fairly strong over land, only weakening to a tropical storm at the Louisiana-Arkansas border, and going extratropical over Arkansas, dissipating on September 17. Impact Antigua & Barbuda Before Fernand hit, people were told to evacuate, but a lot of people didn't heed the evacuation orders. However the deaths could've totaled a lot more as a lot of people did end up evacuating as well. Not too much rain actually fell due to the small size of the islands, but flooding was still a problem. However wind was a big deal, destroying many buildings. 122 people died in Antigua & Barbuda from the storm, 87 related to non-storm surge wind-related events. Damage ended up at 1.2 billion USD. St. Kitts & Nevis The eye did not pass directly over St. Kitts & Nevis and there wasn't quite as much to damage. Only 13 fatalities were caused, there wasn't much flooding and they didn't get the strongest winds. Only 40 million USD in damage was caused. Puerto Rico Fernand made landfall on Puerto Rico as a low-end category 3. He weakened to a tropical storm over the island, but still caused some pretty bad damage. Flooding also wasn't too big of a problem here, except for storm surge flooding. The storm surge reached up to 8 feet in places. Overall 800 million USD in damage was sustained and 43 died in Puerto Rico. Dominican Republic Minimal damages were reported in the Dominican Republic. Fernand did not kill anyone in the Dominican Republic. United States Louisiana Louisiana was extremely hard hit. Fernand stayed at hurricane strength almost the entire time while over Louisiana, before falling to TS strength right before the Louisiana-Arkansas border. Storm surge was up to 13 feet, and flooding was huge around Louisiana. Over 8 billion USD in damage was caused in Louisiana, over the entire state, and over 400 people died in Louisiana, also reaching across the entire state. Undoubtedly the worst effects from Fernand were in Louisiana. Texas The outer bands of Fernand hit Texas pretty hard. Flooding was a big problem, especially near the coast, and flash flooding in Houston killed 57 of the 74 people that died in Texas. 800 million USD in damages were sustained in Texas, and 74 people died. Damage even stretched up to the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Mississippi Due to Chantal and Dorian earlier in the season, Mississippi was pretty damaged already and took some big hits from Fernand. Storm surge was a big problem, and so was flooding, but wind was even bigger of a problem. 285 million USD in damage was reported and 43 people died in Mississippi. Arkansas Surprisingly Fernand survived as a TS into Arkansas. Arkansas was not prepared, and a lot of flash floods occurred, resulting in 8 deaths and 75 million USD in damage total, mainly due to flash flooding. Aftermath Fernand was the deadliest hurricane in the mainland US since Katrina in 2005, hitting the same state the hardest too. Recovery efforts in places in the US took months in some places, especially in Mississippi which had already been hit by Chantal and Dorian. The damage was devastating in Antigua & Barbuda too, considered worse than Irma in some places. A state of emergency was declared in Louisiana. Retirement Due to the severe damage and deaths caused by the storm, the name Fernand was retired in spring 2020, and will never again be used in the Atlantic basin. In 2025, it will be replaced by Flint. Category:Category 4 Atlantic hurricanes Category:Future storms Category:Atlantic hurricanes Category:Retired Atlantic hurricanes Category:Caribbean storms